These were the most popular Voice of San Diego stories for the week of Aug. 8-14.
1. Airport Must Encourage People Not to Use New Parking Garage
The Coastal Commission is poised to approve a mega airport parking garage – if the airport encourages people to take public transit instead. (Ashly McGlone)
2. Mayor About to Trumpet How Much We Lose on Qualcomm Stadium
Using general fund dollars on a stadium will be controversial so the mayor is laying the groundwork to say we already do and can do it better. (Scott Lewis)
3. New Stadium Plan Would Be Bigger Taxpayer Investment in Football
Proposal for $200 million from the city and $150 million from the county would be more from the city than taxpayers spend now and a new step for the county. (Liam Dillon)
4. L.A. Developer Hopes Carlsbad Project Will Clear an Easier Path to Building Malls
An L.A. developer is pushing through a plan for a shopping mall in Carlsbad using a novel method that could allow it to bypass environmental rules. (Maya Srikrishnan)
5. The Deal With All Those Other Comic-Cons
Many other comics and pop culture conventions have cropped up since Comic-Con debuted in 1970 but Comic-Con’s managed to maintain its prestige. (Lisa Halverstadt)
6. City Clears a Path for Airbnb
City staffers released draft recommendations Wednesday for an ordinance that would allow some short-term renting through sites like Airbnb in San Diego. (Lisa Halverstadt)
7. What Doug Manchester’s Up to Now
Developer Doug Manchester has exited the media business, but he will still have lots of influence on the city’s future thanks to several ongoing projects. (Lily Leung)
8. Here’s How San Diegans Take Back the Stadium Debate
San Diego’s civic leaders have sidestepped the question of whether public funding for a new football stadium is a good idea. So what can the public do? (Bob Stein)
9. Fact Check: The Zoo’s Untamed Beast — Its Parking Lot
Thomas Herrera-Mishler, director of the nonprofit park conservancy, said a lack of parking spaces hurts park institutions’ bottom lines. (Zoe Schaver)
10. Environmentalist Wants to Save an East County River Basin – by Mining it
A dried up three-mile stretch of the San Diego River left sand, and non-native plants took root. Michael Beck, one of the county’s leading environmentalists, wants to restore the basin as the natural landscape it was a century ago. If all you have to do to make it happen is let a mining company truck out perhaps a few hundred million dollars’ worth of sand, so be it. (Ry Rivard)